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Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Holder – Only Two Conservatives Said No

The Senate Judiciary Committee hours ago voted 17-2 to approve the nomination of Eric Holder to be the next Attorney General. A floor vote on his nomination is expected for next week. The only two Conservative stalwarts voted no: John Cornyn (R-TX); and Tom Coburn (R-OK). Eric Holder, former Deputy Attorney General for President Bill Clinton, has taken actions that disqualify him from Senate consent to be the next Attorney General of the United States.

Eric Holder is well educated and has a wealth of experience, but his experience does not mitigate his actions as an attorney that many consider disqualifying. The main stream media would have you believe that merely because he uttered the sentiment that waterboarding is torture, he is qualified. Most thoughtful analysts would argue that Holder’s record as an attorney and as Deputy Attorney General under Janet Reno is instructive on how he would rule the Department of Justice. The following are two reasons why Eric Holder has disqualified himself from serving the United States as Attorney General:

Holder’s Poor Judgment in Aggressively Fighting for Commutations for Terrorists and a Pardon for Mark Rich – Joseph Connor of New York testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee about the commutation of sentences for a Puerto Rican terrorist organization that were responsible for killing his father in 1975. Joe’s dad, Frank Connor, was murdered by the Armed Forces for National Liberation (FALN) terrorist organization. Holder worked aggressively to get these terrorist’s sentences commuted so they could be freed. After the FALN killed Joe’s father, they saw fit to put out a press release to brag about the terrorist attack that was staged in New York City. Details of the FALN’s terrorist actions that were excused by President Bill Clinton in 1999 at the urging of Eric Holder were discussed by Joe Connor in his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Holder recommended the commutation of the sentence of the 16 unrepentant terrorists and claimed at the hearing that his actions were “reasonable” and “appropriate.” Joe Conner said the following when asked if Holder should be confirmed as Attorney General, “Holder is either an incompetent, a liar, a stooge to his bosses, a person who believes in the terrorists’ cause and their violent tactics or all of the above. Any of those descriptions would disqualify him as the top law enforcement officer in the United States.” Eric Holder also recommended a pardon for fugitive financier Mark Rich. Dick Morris wrote about the Rich pardon that, “if ever there was a person who did not deserve a presidential pardon, it’s Marc Rich, the fugitive billionaire who renounced his US citizenship and moved to Switzerland to avoid prosecution for racketeering, wire fraud, 51 counts of tax fraud, evading $48 million in taxes, and engaging in illegal trades with Iran in violation of the US embargo following the 1979-80 hostage crisis.” Holder’s acts to secure pardons and commutations during his years in the Clinton Administration for terrorists and fugitives are, considered alone, a disqualifier for him to be the chief law enforcement officer in the land.

Disrespect for Constitutional Rights – Holder’s view of the Second Amendment is abysmal. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) wrote an excellent Op Ed in the Casper Star-Tribune where he explained that he will vote no on the nomination of Holder because “we don’t ask for much from Washington. We do ask that Washington limit its intrusion on our land, water and especially our Second Amendment rights. That’s not a lot to ask in the grand scheme of Washington, but it is critically important to the constituents who sent me to fight for them.” In Holder’s last stint at the Justice Department he was on record supporting a long list of gun control initiatives: A three-day waiting period for handgun purchases; one-gun-a-month purchasing limits; licensing and registering of all gun owners; mandatory smart gun technology; and, regulating gun shows. Don’t forget the Holder supported lawsuit against the gun industry and an Op Ed he wrote in 2001 where he argued that every firearm transaction should be regulated by bureaucrats in D.C. in a column titled “Keeping Guns Away from Terrorists.” John Velleco of Gun Owners of America told me, “Eric Holder is not the type of person who should be confirmed to a position that carries the responsibility of enforcing most of the gun control laws in this country, because just last year he agreed that the Second Amendment does not protect and individual right to own a gun.” Gun Owners of America has alerted every United States Senator that they are scoring this vote for their 2010 congressional rating. As for the 4th Amendment Right Against Unreasonable Search and Seizure, watch Holder’s record on the seizing of Elian Gonzalez in 2000 here, and here. Holder’s lack of respect for the 2nd and 4th Amendments to our Constitution should also disqualify Holder to be Attorney General.

At least two Senators take their “Advise and Consent” constitutional responsibilities seriously.